Cell type carton



c. H. eoomrzm 2,525,125

can. m5: CARTON 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. GHARLES H. GOODYEAR ATTORNEYOct. 10, 1950 c. H. GOODYEAR 2,525,125

' cm. TYPE CARTON F'n ea Earth 12, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' 7L .9 K28INVENTOR. E15- 8- GHARLfS H. GOODYEAR 6 4a BY 5' 22 r if 5 4/ I ,2ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 10, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Charles H.Goodyear, Stockton,

Fibreboard Products Inc., San

Califi, assignor to Francisco, Calif.,

a corporation of Delaware Application March 12, 1948, Serial No. 14,529

4 Claims. 1

My invention relates to cartons, and more particularly to a lidless traytype carton frequently employed for the packaging of the more delicatefancy fruit or vegetables, such as nectarines, peaches, plums andtomatoes.

My invention has as its objects, among others, the provision of animproved carton of the character described which is formed from a singleblank of material suitably scored or creased and cut to provide thecarton when it is folded, such as paperboard or any suitable paper-likeor fibrous material; is provided with cell forming partitions that willreenforce the carton when it is set up and adequately protect theproduce during shipment or otherwise; is higher at its ends so that theproduce may be readily displayed and also allowing the carton to bemachine wrapped with transparent material such as cello phane, withoutdamaging the contents; is provided with projections adjacent the exposedsides of the produce to protect such produce; is formed with flaps atits ends to provide for tierage strength when cartons are stacked oneupon the other in overlying relationship; may be provided with anauxiliary liner of any one of varying thicknesses to enable the cartonto be adapted for packaging of various sizes of produce by choice of theliner thickness; is of simple and economical construction; and which canbe very readily set up from the creased and cut blank. Other objects ofmy invention will become apparent from the following description.

Referring to the drawings, in which the cuts of the carton blank areshown in solid'lines and crease or score lines in broken or dottedlines:

Fig. l is a plan view of the scored or creased and cut blank for thecarton of my invention; the view looking at the inside walls of thecarton before they are set up; a

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the auxiliary liner which I prefer to employ inthe carton;

Fig. 3 is an isometric view of the set up carton blank, illustrating thefiller panel and the swingable cell forming partition members beforethey are positioned.

Fig. 4 is an isometric view of the liner of Fig. 2

in folded position;

Fig. 5 is an isometric view of the completely set up carton, with thefiller panel and cell forming partition members in position, andwith theliner in the carton; 1

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the completely set up carton;

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section taken in a plane indicated by line 1-1in Fig. 6, the endflaps of the carton which provide tierage strengthbeing parallel end crease lines 4. Hingedly connected to bottom 2 at oneof crease lines 3 is a side wall forming portion 6 which has hingedlyconnected thereto a filler panel structure indicated generally byreference numeral I. To the opposite crease line 3 is hingedly connectedan opposite side wall portion 8 which, when the carton is set up, willbe in spaced relationship and parallel with respect to side wall 6.

To the ends of side wall portions 8 and 8 at transversely extendincrease lines 9, are hingedly connected end flaps Ill which are providedwith any suitable interengageable or interlockable tongue and slitportions ll enabling such end flaps to be interlocked so that the sidewalls 6 and B will be held in upright position when the carton is setup. Also, hingedly connected to bottom 2 at the end crease lines 4, areend wallportions l2 separated from end flaps H) by cuts l3 and which areadapted to be folded upright inside the adjacent end flaps II] as isindicated in Fig. 3. The extremities of end wall members l2 are providedwith end flaps l4 hingedly connected to end members I2 by transverselyextending crease lines l6; so thatthe flaps may be turned inwardly as isindicated in Fig. '7 and in the dotted line position of Fig. 6. From thepreceding, it will be seen that the described construction when set upto the position shown in Fig. 3 provides the spaced side walls of thecarton and the spaced ends between said side walls, and that the ends ofthe carton include the end flaps l4 which are adapted to overlap the setup carton and provide support for an overlying carton as is indicated bythe partially folded position of such end flaps I 4 shown in Fig. '7.

Side wall portion 8 is formed with an intermediate cut-away portion H,the. longitudinal margin of which being thus spaced a lesser distancefrom bottom 2 than the end margins [8 of such side wall. Filler panelstructure I is hingedly connected to side wall 6 along crease line I!)which is spaced the same distance from bottom 2 as the longitudinalmargin of the intermediate portion of side wall 8; the filler panelstructure being separated from side wall 6 by diagonal cuts 2|. Endmargins 22 of side wall 8 are the same distance from bottom 2 as endmargins ill of side wall 8 and the width of end flaps l and the heightof end walls l2 are of the same dimension as the distance of marginsl8-22 from bottom 2.

Consequently, when the carton is set up, the ends of the carton and theside wall portions adjacent each end are of greater height than theintermediate portions of such side walls. Thus, when a row of produce isplaced in the carton, it will be clearly displayed as it can be readilyobserved from the sides of the carton; and when the carton is wrapped intransparent material such as cellophane, a package of pleasingappearance for especially fancy produceob- 'tains. The structure thusfar described lends itself very readily to automatic setting up bysuitable machinery for this purpose.

Filler panel structure I is des gned to provide adequate protection forthe produce in the carton during shipment thereof and otherwise; andcomprises filler panel 23 which, as previously explained, is hingedlyconnected along line IS in side wall 6. The filler panel is of lesslength than the bottom or length of the carton with each of its ends 24spaced from the adjacent end of the carton. Consequently, when thecarton is set up, each end cell of the carton w ll be formed by thespace between each end of the filler panel and the adjacent end of thecarton, as can be seen more clearly from Fig. '7.

Hingedly connected to filler panel 23 at crease line 26 which is spacedfrom and parallel to hinge line l9 for the filler panel. is a closureflap 28 adapted to be secured to side wall 8 when filler panel 23 isfolded downwardly from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown inFig. 5. Any suitable means may be provided for securing flap 28 to wall8. However, I preferably employ a pair of projecting tongues 29 on flap28 adapted to be inserted in longitudinal slit portions 3| formed inside wall 8, so that when tongues 29 are inserted therein. the fillerpanel will be held in position by frictional engagement of the tonguesin the slits. To facilitate insertion of the tongues in the slits 3|,transversely extending intermediate slits 32 are provided. as isindicated in Fig. 1. Closure of filler panel 23 and insertion of thetongues 29 into slits 3| can be quickly effected by a s ngle hand motionof the operator filling the carton with produce.

Cell forming partition members are swingably or hingedly connected tofiller panel 23, which may be readily moved to cell forming position byinsertion of produce into the carton. For this purpose, spaced parallelcrease lines are provided in the filler panel, extending transversely ofthe carton between crease lines l9 and 26. Such filler panel creaselines comprise end creases 36, and intermediate creases 31 in spacedrelationship between the ends of the filler panel. A cut 38 parallel toand midway between each pair of adjacent crease lines in the fillerpanel, provides 1 pair of cell forming partition members 39 between eachpa r of such crease lines. These partition members can be readily swungdownwardly by insertion of produce into the carton when it is set up;and they form cells in which the transverse walls are of doublethickness as can be seen from Fig. 7, thus providing adequatereenforcement for the carton and protection to the produce contained inthe cells formed. To fat itate folding of partition members 38, creaselines 36-41 are preferably formed with short central cuts 40.

Preferably, the ends of the filler panel are provided with partitionmembers 4| which are hinged to the end crease lines 38 so that the endtransverse cell wall structure formed by the filler panel will also beof double thickness as can be seen from Fig. 7. Triangular webs 42 areprovided at the necessary locations adjacent meeting corners of creaselines in the filler panel to provide support for the partition wallmembers.

Cuts 38 may extend all the way between crease lines i9 and 28, but inorder to provide for protection of the sides of the produce projectingabove the cells lying between the ends of the filler panel, I preferablycut the filler panel to provide spaced side projections 43 at the sidesof such cells in the spaces between crease lines 38, 31, and whichextend above the plane of the filler panel when the carton is set up.These projections may be readily formed by providing cuts 44 at thesides of each pair of cell forming partition members 89; each out beingpreferably arcute in form and extending across the out 38 which formsthe hingedly connected partition wall members. In this connection, itwill be noted that the crease lines l9 and 26 do not extend across theprojection forming portions 43. and that the cuts 44 leave openings orcut-away portions 45 adjacent projection portions 43 when the carton isset up.

The carton may be used as described thus far; and when it is set up andproduce inserted in the cells formed by the partition members hingedlyconnected to the filler panel, such produce will be adequately protectedand the produce filled carton will be adequately reenforced duringshipment and otherwise. Such produce may vary in ize; and to adapt acarton of one size for produce of different sizes so that the producemay fit snugly in the cells, I preferably employ an auxiliary linerwhich is preferably of corrugated paper and which is selected of theproper thickness to provide the desired cell width. Also, the linerprovides a cushion support for the produce and consequently serves asadditional protection.

With reference to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the liner 46 is of alength substantially equal to that of bottom 2 of the carton, and it isprovided with parallel spaced crease lines 41 spaced apart substantiallythe same distance as the spacing between crease lines 3, so that theliner may be set up to provide upstanding side wall portions 48 adaptedto lie against side walls 6 and 8 of the carton. The edges of such sidewall portions 48 are scalloped to provide projections 49 which areadapted to extend through the cut away portions 45 in the partition wallmembers 39 formed by projections 43, and to overlie such projections 48,thus providing protection for the sides of the produce adjacent suchprojections. In assembling the liner, it is inserted into the cartonwhen it is set up in the position shown in Fig. 3, with the filler panelstructure open. By selecting a liner of the proper thickness from linersof varying thickness, the carton can be readily adapted for differentsizes of produce. Although the liner is preferred for the reasonsstated, it may be omitted if so desired.

, From the preceding description, it is seen that the carton of myinvention is relatively simple and of economical construction, can bereadily produce 01' the type described. I claim:

l. A lidless, tray and cell type carton comprising a bottom, spaced sidewalls and spaced end walls both vertical with respect to said bottom,the end walls of the carton and a portion of each side wall adjacenteach of said end walls being of greater height than intermediateportions of said side walls, the top edges of such higher end portions01' the carton lying in substantially the same horizontal plane and thetop edges of said intermediate portions of said-side walls also lying insubstantially the same horizontal plane below said first mentionedhorizontal plane, a filler 6 between each pair of adjacent crease linesof said filler panel forming a pair of cell forming partition membersbetween each pair of said adiacent crease lines, and each pair of saidcell forming partition members being cut away ad- Jacent each side .by acut extending generally panel connected to' and extending between saidtop edges of the intermediate portions of said side walls, the length ofsaid filler panel being less than the length of said carton and each endof said filler panel being spaced from the adjacent vertical end wall ofthe carbon whereby an uncovered cell is provided in each of said higherend portions of the carton between each end of the filler panel and theadjacent end wall of the carton, one side edge of said filler panelbeing integral with and hingedly connected to one of the carton sidewalls and said filler panel having an integral fiap hingedly connectedthereto along the opposite sideedge thereof, said flap having a tongueadapted to be inserted in a slit formed in the side wall of said cartonopposite to that to which said filler panel is hingedly connected,crease lines formed in said filler panel adjacent its ends and in spacedrelationship between said filler panel ends, all of said filler panelcrease lines being parallel and extending transversely of said fillerpanel, and a out between each pair of adjacent crease lines of saidfiller panel, forming a pair of cell forming partition members betweeneach pair of said adjacent crease lines,

2. A lidless, tray and cell type carton comprising a bottom, spaced sidewalls and spaced end walls both vertical with respect to said bottom,the end walls of the carton and a portion of each side wall adjacenteach of said end walls being of greater height than intermediateportions of said side walls, the top edges of such higher end portionsof the carton lying in substantially the same horizontal plane and thetop edges of said intermediate portions of said side walls also lying insubstantially the same horizontal plane below said first mentionedhorizontal plane, a filler panel connected to and extending between saidtop edges of the intermediate portions of said side walls, the length ofsaid filler transversely across the out which forms the partitionmembers whereby projections are provided along each intermediate portionof each side wall of the carton extending above the plane of said fillerpanel at both sides of each of the cells formed by said filler panel. I

3. A lidless, tray and cell type carton comprising a bottom, spaced sidewalls and spaced end walls both vertical with respect to said bottom,

the end walls of the carton and a portion of each side wall adjacenteach of said end walls being of greater height than intermediateportions of said side walls, the top edges of such higher end portionsof the carton lying in substantially the same horizontal plane and thetop edges of said intermediate portions of said side walls also lying insubstantially the same horizontal plane below said first mentionedhorizontal plane, a flller panel connected to and extending between saidtop edges of the intermediate portions of said side walls, the length ofsaid filler panel being less than the length of said carton and each endof said filler panel being spaced from the adjacent vertical end wall ofthe carton whereby an uncovered cell is provided in each of said higherend portions of the carton between each end of the filler panel and theadjacent end wall of the panel being less than the length of said cartonand each end of said filler panel being spaced from the adjacentvertical end wall of the carton whereby an uncovered cell is provided ineach of said higher end portions of the carton between each end of thefiller panel and the adjacent end wall of the carton, one side edge ofsaid filler panel being integral with and hingedly connected to oneofithe carton side walls and said filler panel having an integral fiaphingedly connected thereto along the opposite side edge thereof, saidflap having a tongue adapted to be inserted in a slit formed in the sidewall of said carton opposite to that to which said filler panel ishingedly connected, crease lines formed and said filler panel adjacentits ends and in spaced relationship between said filler panel ends, allof said filler panel crease lines being parallel and extendingtransversely of said filler panel, a cut carton, one side edge of saidfiller panel being integral with and hingedly connected to one of thecarton side walls and said filler panel having an integral flap hingedlyconnected thereto along the opposite side edge thereof, said flap havinga tongue adapted to be inserted in a. slit formed in the side wall ofsaid carton opposite to that to which said filler panel is hingedlyconnected, crease lines formed in said filler panel adjacent its endsand in spaced relationship between said filler panel ends, all of saidfiller panel crease lines being parallel and extending transversely ofsaid filler panel, a out between each pair of adjacent crease lines ofsaid filler panel forming a pair of cell forming partition membersbetween each pair of said adjacent crease lines, and spaced projectionsintegral with and along each intermediate portion of each side wallextending above the plane of said filler panel at both sides of each ofthe cells formed by said filler panel.

4. A lidless, tray and cell type carton comprising a bottom, spaced sidewalls and spaced end walls both vertical with respect to said bottom,the end walls of the carton and aportion of each side wall adjacent eachof said end walls being of greater height than intermediate portions ofsaid side walls, the top edges of such higher end portions of the cartonlying in substantially the same horizontal plane and the top edges ofsaid intermediate portions of said side walls also lying insubstantially the same horizontal plane below said first mentionedhorizontal plane, a filler panel connected to and extending between said7 carton, one side edge oi said filler panel being integral with andhingedly connected to one of the carton sidewalls and said filler panelhaving an integral flap hingedly connected thereto along the oppositeside edge thereof, said flap having a tongue adapted to be inserted in aslit formed in the side wall of said carton opposite to that to whichsaid filler panel is hingedly connected, crease lines formed in saidfiller panel adjacent its ends and in spaced relationship between saidfiller panel ends, all of said filler panel crease lines being paralleland extending transversely of said flller panel, a out between each pairof adjacent crease lines of said filler panel forming a pair of cellforming partition members between I each pair of said adjacent .creaselines, spaced projectionsintegral with and along each intermediateportion of each side wall extending above the plane of said filler panelat both sides of each of the cells formed by said filler panel,

, 8 and an end flap integral with and hingediy connected to each endwall of the carton adapted to overlap the carton to provide support foran overlying carton.

CHARLES H. GOODYEAR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED ST ATES PATENTS

